Beacon Hills Academy For Exceptional Young People
by Allyarra
Summary: The Beacon Hills Academy is a fairly typical boarding school-that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. The Beacon Hills Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses, but it's really a school for spies. Scallison. Eventual Sterek.
1. Scott 1

Stiles is always the first to find out any good news. Scott's not really sure how he does it, but he always seems to know everything that's going on without having been there. He thinks part of it's because Stiles' dad is headmaster and he's got his office wire-tapped, but that seems a little unrealistic. After all, no one's ever been able to get anything past the legendary Headmaster Stilinski. Of course, if anyone could, it would be the Chameleon.

But Stiles is the first to know that they're getting a new instructor, and not just any instructor. Derek Hale, unknown to most of the world, but one of the most famous graduates of Beacon Hills Academy for Exceptional Young People. Derek Hale, one of the last surviving members of the Hale Family, famous for their long history of being the best in the spying business, until Kate Argent went traitor and burned them to the ground.

The school is abuzz with the gossip before there's even been a formal announcement and no one even knows where the information came from, because no one knows who the Chameleon is. Stiles claims he does his best work from the shadows. Which is really annoying sometimes because Jackson Whittemore might be able to talk his way into closed societies and have mastered the quick change, but he's nowhere near Stiles' level. People notice Jackson, and he turns that weakness into a strength, but Stiles is so much better. Stiles can get the same information without anyone having noticed he was there.

Scott appreciates that, because it means he's able to spend a fair amount of time cozying up to the new girl, Allison Argent, before any of the other boys notice her. He knows that Allison is the niece of the infamous Kate Argent, but doesn't really know anything beyond that, doesn't really care. He's more worried about whether or not she'll like him back, not to mention he's still kind of failing Applied Chemistry, which, as a teenage boy, is something that should not be allowed. It's an entire class all about how to blow stuff up, he should be excelling. But the science and knowledge stuff was always more Stiles' kind of thing, his is more the people.

It's why they make such a good team. They've been a team since they were in the elementary section and making playdough explode and finding every last secret passage to be found in the entire school. Stiles and Scott know they're going to be partners after they graduate, just as they know that no spy worth their salt works alone.

So Scott feels a little bit badly that he's dragging Allison into this, but not that much. It's pretty obvious that Stiles likes Allison too, maybe not in the same way, but he likes her. A fact which is actually super important to Scott because Stiles' opinion is possibly the one that means the most to Scott. After all, they're the only ones who know all of each other's secrets.

And they're a team, which is good because everyone else in this school has no idea just what they can do, just how much they know. Well, Lydia Martin might know but that's because she's a genius and sometimes likes to partner with Stiles because he's the only one that can even attempt to keep up with her, although the three of them are the only ones who know that.

But Stiles should really never be allowed to handle sharp implements because he will injure himself and innocent bystanders, even if he is on CIA list multiple times. His spots on that list have nothing to do with his physical abilities and everything to do with his ability to slip into any situation undetected. To gather information that no one else should be able to get, even Danny who's the best hacker that the school's ever seen, and the school's seen the best.

So Scott does not feel guilty at all for abandoning Stiles as his partner in their latest field exercise in favor of Allison. Stiles totally understands, because it's not like he wouldn't do the same if Lydia ever acknowledged him.

And then the exercise turns into deadly reality way too quickly and Scott finds himself wishing that his best friend was at his back instead of his maybe girlfriend as he and Allison hide behind some crates in a back corner of some warehouse. Because Allison is all kinds of awesome and amazing and he could go on for hours (has gone on for hours) about her, but she is not Stiles. She's really good with anything that could conceivably be used as a weapon, which, come to think of it, makes an awesome addition to the little team of Scott and Stiles, but they don't need a weapon right now.

They need information and a plan. Because Scott can sweet talk anyone into anything, including a delegate into dressing in drag and using liquid nitrogen to fake a pregnancy, but he can't do that unless he knows what he's getting into, unless he's got Stiles in the shadows. And just when he's thinking that is when they're caught.

"Look what we got here, Nate, some little kiddies," the man with the rifle in his hands sneers at them as he stands over their crouched bodies. "Trying to find a nice place for some action and found a bit more than you thought you would, eh?"

Scott stands slowly, his hands out in front of him, angling his body to shield as much of Allison as he can. "Look man, we didn't know anyone used this place. We'll just go and we won't say anything to anyone," Scott tries, because he has to do something.

He knows Allison is already assessing the quickest and easiest way in which to take down the three men surrounding them, but he also knows that the likelihood of that happening without injury to one or both of them is too low to risk.

"Oh, you won't tell anyone?" the man in the middle, the one who seemed to be the leader, asked. "I don't believe you, Beacon Hills Brats."

And that's when Scott knows that the jig is up, because anyone who calls them that knows just what the Beacon Hills Academy really is. He can feel Allison stiffening behind him, somehow becoming even more impossibly ready to deal with this threat. And Scott's not as good as Stiles, but he can assess this situation well enough to know that they're not getting out of there whole. Not unless some back up shows up pretty quickly.

"Aren't you breaking your spy rules?" the one with the rifle sneers at them, making the simple question unbearably condescending. "I thought they taught the best at that place, guess even Beacon Hills turns out a few duds every now and then. Makes our job easier, though."

The third one, the giant one who looks like he's just there to be muscle sniggers and Scott wants to roll his eyes at how stereotypical that is, mainly because Stiles isn't here to do so. And Scott had never really noticed before just how much his life revolved around his best friend, which was weird, okay, and he liked it better when Stiles was always there so he didn't have to notice that. He really needed to start focusing on the situation at hand.

"Look guys, we were just here for a little school project, we didn't mean any harm. The lady and I can get out of your hair and everyone will be happy," Scott cajoles, knowing it won't work but that he's got to try. He's at his best when he's convincing people to do stupid things (it's more than half the reason why he and Stiles have had so many misadventures growing up). "There's no need to get violent."

"Violent? We haven't even begun to get violent," the leader says and now Scott can feel that cold pit of dread tightening in his stomach.

With as little movement as he can possibly manage he surveys the warehouse. It's not that big, and pretty much empty except for this back corner where all the boxes were stacked. They'll be shot before they get anywhere near an exit. Their only choice is to try talking themselves out of this situation, and that's not looking too likely to happen.

"I got dibs on the girl," the nasty, small one with the rifle says and Scott really wants to take him apart for that, especially because he licks his lips and gives Allison a once over. "Come on, Nate, let us have a little fun.

"No," the leader says, and Scott presumes this is the one called Nate. "We've got our orders. That's the Argent girl, she's on the no touch list."

Scott supposes all his training must be good for something because that sets off all his warning signals. He'd thought he'd just stumbled into some gang territory at first, but with this and the fact that they know what Beacon Hills Academy really is, he knows something is going on. Something big, if there are underlings with no tough lists.

He keeps his mouth shut though, hoping they'll spill just a little bit more information. Stiles always likes as much information as he can get and Scott knows that the second he's alone with Stiles, he's going to tell the other boy everything. And they'll be dragging themselves into another adventure, but they'd never claimed not to be adrenaline junkies.

Unfortunately, Nate is smarter than he seems because he stops talking and gives them a suspicious look. "Search 'em and then cuff 'em to the center pole where we can keep an eye on them. If things don't start picking up soon maybe I'll let you have a little fun with the boy."

Scott's running out of ideas fast and is more than just a little worried, but that's all cured when a voice carries through the warehouse before the two thugs can grab him and Allison. "I really, really wouldn't want to do that if I were you."

Scott's never been so grateful to see Stiles in his entire life. He has absolutely no idea how Stiles knew they were here or that they were in trouble, but he's grateful. Until he thinks about the fact that Stiles appears to be alone and then Scott's pretty sure that the number of captives just went up by one.

"Another Beacon Hills Brat?" Nate laughs, gesturing for the big one to go take care of Stiles. Scott tries to move, tries to do something, but that's quickly aborted when the mean one points his rifle right at Scott's heart. "Should have brought backup, kid. I thought they taught you that in your fancy school?"

Scott's so angry and scared right now that all he can do is growl, low in his throat, at this stupid man. But then Stiles lets out the laugh, the one he uses when everything is going according to his plan and no one else even realized it and Scott's growl dies, slowly being replaced by a smug smile.

"They do," Stiles quips and out of absolutely nowhere Derek Hale has just taken down the big one and disarmed the nasty one.

And Scott thought he was getting pretty good at martial arts but it's like watching some kind of dance as Derek takes down the big one with just a few well-placed punches and then advances on the second, disarming him so quickly that Scott suspects there are friction burns on the man's palms. Derek's literally taking apart the gun the entire time he's taking down the guy and then he just stands over their bodies, pieces of gun lying on the ground at his feet.

It's pretty damn impressive and suddenly Scott is much more willing to be taking lessons from the guy who's only a few years older than them if Derek can teach him to do that. "Stiles, I told you to wait at the truck," Derek barks out but Stiles just shrugs. He never does what anyone tells him to do, except occasionally when it's his dad, and even then it's a pretty rare event.

"I want to hear how this guy knows about Beacon Hills and why someone hired these three to get ahold of Scott and Allison," Stiles argues, walking calmly over to Scott and Allison, as if there isn't a threat still in the room at all.

"Who said anything about getting me and Scott?" Allison interjects, stepping fully out from behind Scott as Derek walks calmly over to Nate.

Stiles just snorts and rolls his eyes in response, as if because it was obvious to him it should be obvious to everyone. Then Nate chooses that moment to make himself a threat once more by pulling out a handgun and pointing it at Stiles, the easiest target, especially after Derek made the comment that he should have stayed in the car. Everyone else freezes but Stiles kind of flinches as he stops walking. He might go to a spy school and he might be used to weapons, but every time they're openly pointed in his direction he can't help but to react just a little, totally involuntarily.

But that flinch is just what Scott needs to distract Nate long enough to fling himself forward and rip the gun from the man's hands only to pistol whip him in the temple with his own weapon. Nate just kind of crumples to the ground and everyone is still for a beat.

"That was kind of awesome, dude. Have you been practicing behind my back again?" Stiles accuses him as he moves to stand next to his friend. Scott grins at him before turning to make sure that Allison is alright.

She is and she's already examining Nate's unconscious body. Derek's doing the same with the other two so Scott just asks the question that's been bothering him since Stiles showed up only a few minutes before. "How did you even know we were here?"

Stiles just fixes him with this completely incredulous look. "Dude. I've been following you guys all day. That was my assignment." And of course he was, because Stiles has taught Scott well enough that he would have noticed their tail if it had been anyone else. He's kind of kicking himself right now for not realizing it sooner, he might have at least managed to pass the exercise if he had.

"How?" Allison demands and Scott had kind of forgotten that Allison didn't know just how good Stiles was. "And how did you get Derek here, too?"

"Greenberg's got pink eye again so I was his backup. He called it in right after you guys came in here and then I came over to get you out. Stiles, though, was not supposed to enter the warehouse," Derek explains as he ties the three would-be kidnappers together and gives Stiles a pretty intimidating glare. "But Allison's right. How did you get in here without any of us noticing?"

Stiles grins and opens his arms. "I'm the Chameleon," he says, just as cheekily as when he's talking back to his dad. Allison's eyes go wide and her mouth drops open while Derek kind of looks like he wants to hit his head against the wall.

Scott kind of snorts, trying not to laugh at their reactions. He was not expecting Stiles to come clean about this, but it kind of makes sense. Stiles has been planning something for a while now, Scott might not know what it is but he knows his best friend well enough to recognize the signs and to prepare for anything. Besides, they're sophomores now and Stiles has been complaining lately that the quality of their education would be so much better if they could just take some more advanced classes.

"He is, really," he says, because they were never going to believe Stiles unless someone backed him up. "It's why we make such a good team."

"We'll be discussing this when we get back to campus, but in the meantime, congratulations. You've all earned yourselves a place in the Pack," Derek says and pulls out his cell phone, heading out towards the front of the warehouse as he talks to whoever's on the other end of the line. Scott's pretty sure it's someone from the school, but he doesn't really care.

He's too busy grinning at Allison and bumping a fist with Stiles. The three of them would be the first ever sophomores to make into the Pack, the most exclusive group in the entire school. They would be learning directly from Derek Hale in a small group instead of in huge classes without any real individual attention, would be moved up into the more advanced classes, and would get to start going on actual missions by the end of term.

This was going to be the best year at the Beacon Hills Academy for Exceptional Young People ever.

* * *

A/N: I gift you all with happiness. The original idea came from rodenn. tumblr .com who graciously allowed me to write it. This was so much fun to write that I might go back later and write a sequel. Who knows. Probably not though.


	2. Scott 2

Scott was pretty sure that sophomore year at a spy school was supposed to be exciting, but he wasn't sure that it was supposed to be this exciting. Sure, the explosions were to be expected considering Lydia and Jackson had broken up, again, and she liked to make her feelings on the subject known by creating new and even bigger ways to create contained explosions. And now that he was dating Lydia's new best friend it was natural that he would be drawn into it even more than before.

What should not have happened was being dragged into an international spy conspiracy. He didn't even start learning about those until junior year. Not that Stiles had let that deter him, he'd already read all about them by the time they'd started high school. Still, Scott would probably not have agreed to be a part of the Pack if he had known that this would happen. Especially considering he wasn't even allowed to let anyone know he was in it.

Nobody was allowed to know who was in Derek's Pack, they weren't even supposed to know that it existed. But this is a school for spies, of course everyone knew it existed. It was actually more of a surprise that no one actually knew who was in it, or that their only correct idea was Allison. No one even thought about Stiles and Scott being viable options, mainly because Scott was more people smart than book smart and Stiles didn't want anyone to know how smart he was. And yet no one knew who was a part of the Pack, not even Stiles' dad. No one even knew that Derek was the Alpha.

But Scott and Stiles were in the Pack and they were actually currently in Sublevel Five, the mythical place that students weren't even sure if it actually existed. Apparently it did, and it was used to teach the truly special students. Frankly, Scott was a little surprised that he was even there at all. Sure, Stiles and Allison he could totally see, but Scott had always been happy being a normal, average spy, even if he probably had more experience and adventures thanks to Stiles than most of the other students.

"Scott!" Derek barked out, with his signature scowl that still intimidated the hell out of Scott. "Stop daydreaming and run the course. Even Stiles is paying more attention than you today!"

"Hey!" Stiles protested, but all four of them knew it was more of a token protest than anything else. Stiles' ADHD was bad enough that it could be a liability when he didn't get his meds, but most days he got around that pretty well.

Scott got to his feet with a groan, looking at the obstacle course with trepidation. "Sorry, Derek," he muttered as he made his way to the beginning of the course.

That was another thing that made this whole thing difficult. In the regular classroom and in the hallways, Derek was always Mr. Hale because he was a teacher. In Sublevel Five he was just Derek, the leader of the Pack and their mentor in all things super spy. Scott didn't even know how he'd gotten the job, only that he had and that he was in charge.

He couldn't think about that right now, that was something to talk with Stiles later, when they were in their dorm room and had done their nightly bug check. Right now he had to get through this stupidly hard obstacle course. Seriously, this thing was ridiculous. Scott was pretty sure that if a situation ever got bad enough that he needed the skills that this course cultivated he was probably going to be in too deep to survive. Because a spy's best defense was to keep anyone from knowing they were there, not being a super soldier.

After all, he highly doubted that he would ever have to run through a burning building only to find himself having to cross a chasm. Scott really wanted to know who had even thought up this obstacle course and how on Earth they had managed to install it five levels below the main building of BHA. By the time he'd finished the course, which was about half an hour longer than Derek ever took, he was so exhausted he just flung himself down on the mats next to Allison.

"You shaved about five minutes off your best time," she told him, with one of her bright smiles that kind of made his brain melt for a moment. "That was awesome!"

Scott grinned back at her, too tired to do anything else. "Ugh, you two are going to give me cavities," Stiles quipped as he came over to sit by them. "Save it for when you're alone, please."

Scott just rolled his eyes as he dragged himself off the floor so that he could stretch. "Good job, all of you," Derek said as he joined the three of them on the mat. Scott was a little gratified to see the dark stains of sweat on his top, in the two months since they'd begun working together he'd never before seen Derek sweat. "You're finally getting to an acceptable level."

"Do you know that you're the master of the backhanded compliment?" Stiles queried, as honestly curious about this as he was about everything else. "Or are you just that unable to deal with actual human interaction that you can't just give out an honest compliment without qualifying it first?"

"Stiles," Derek said, and it was amazing how much he managed to pack into just that one word. "I'll let you know the next meeting time tomorrow, get some sleep. And don't forget to read the next chapter of the book."

Scott let out a groan and Allison nodded but Stiles didn't even pay attention. He'd finished their latest book two days ago. "See you guys tomorrow!" Allison said as she got up and made her way over to the exit that would let out closest to the girls' dorm.

"Bye!" Scott called and held his hands out to indicate that Stiles should help him to his feet. "See you at breakfast!"

"See ya!" Stiles tacked on before turning to Derek. "You have got to start telling us stuff. For instance, how did you become Pack Alpha? Because if we're going to be a part of a super-secret group we really need to know its history and all the rules. Seriously, have you gotten to that welcome packet that I talked about before yet?"

Derek didn't even deign to answer Stiles as he headed off towards the exit that only he used. Stiles had already explored it enough to be able to tell Stiles that it led to the teacher's wing. Scott just shrugged when Stiles gave him an exasperated look and pulled him toward their own stairs. They both kind of just collapse onto their beds when they reach their dorm.

Scott's not really sure how Allison always manages to sneak out for practice when the meetings are at night because she's got a roommate who's not in the know. Luckily for him, Stiles is also a part of the Pack and so he does not need to hide his whereabouts. Of course, Scott doubts he could have hidden the secret from Stiles for very long if this had not been the case, Stiles is just too good at knowing everything he's not supposed to.

He's really, really grateful that Stiles had made him do his homework earlier because that means he can just go to sleep and he's more than ready for that. Stiles is already asleep on the bed next to his, having shoved all his books off the edge. Scott shakes his head at his friend and goes to turn off the light before joining his best friend in slumber.

**X**

When he wakes up in the morning it seems as if the entire world has changed. He doesn't know that though, not at first. Stiles is gone, but that's the usual, he's always gotten up before Scott and he'll be back right around the time Scott's ready to go to breakfast, they've got their routine down after so many years of friendship. However, that's not what happens today.

Scott's just finished pulling on his uniform when Stiles barrels into the room, slamming the door behind him. He makes the signs not to talk so Scott just watches in bemusement as Stiles tears apart the room looking for bugs. Finally he's satisfied that the room is private, just as it was the last time they checked a little over twelve hours ago.

"Laura Hale's dead. They found her body last night, ripped in two," he explains and Scott has to sit down in order to take this news in.

He'd known Laura, a little, and he'd liked her. Logically, he knew that the spy business wasn't safe, that people died in the line of duty all the time, but he never really thought about it. Sure, that's how Stiles' had lost his mom, but she'd just disappeared, there still wasn't a body, so this was different. This was an actual corpse of someone he knew.

"How did she die?" Scott asks and he really should have been expecting the incredulous look that Stiles gives him.

"Heart attack. She was ripped in half, dumbass."

Scott is so used to being called a dumbass that it's almost like a term of endearment when Stiles or his mom say it. "Oh. Does Derek know?"

Because if he doesn't, that's a problem. Scott might not be best friends with Derek, but he respects the older man and he doesn't want to be the one to tell him that his last remaining family member is dead. And Scott would have to if he doesn't already know, because Stiles would make him because the two of them actually know Derek now, and Stiles can be ridiculously soft-hearted when it comes to the people he likes. A list of people which is surprisingly small when you take into account that he's super friendly with everyone in the school and he's not even popular.

"I think that's part of the reason he's here, because Laura went missing a few weeks before school started and I was going through my dad's papers and originally she was supposed to be our new teacher, not Derek."

Sometimes Scott gets a little weirded out by just how much access to information Stiles has, but that's not something he should be worrying about right now. He can think that over later, when there's not possibly an imminent crisis on their hands. "So what do we do?"

Scott's relying on the fact that Stiles already has a plan, due to the fact that never once in Scott's life has Stiles not had a plan. He's not wrong this time, either. Stiles is already pushing his bed out of the way and prying up a floorboard to reveal a hiding spot that even Scott hadn't known about. And Scott thought he'd found the last of them two months ago, unless this was a new one. Stiles was good at finding new hiding places.

"Okay, Earth to Scott, come back to me, Scott," Stiles said as he pulled a file out and then moved everything back to how it was, neatly hiding any evidence that there was even anything hidden under the bed at all. "We're going to work on the assumption that Derek doesn't know anything more than we do, but we've got to work fast."

"How do we know that he didn't kill her?" It was a legitimate question. Derek could be really scary sometimes.

Stiles apparently did not agree. "She was his sister. His last living family, of course he didn't kill her, Scott. He probably came here trying to find out where she'd gone. Now, focus."

"Okay, okay. So we're operating under the assumption that Derek's innocent and knows nothing, what next?"

"Next we've got to get him either out of the Academy and into hiding in the next hour, or we've got to hide him here. They're going to think he did it, I've seen everything they've got and it doesn't look good for Derek. Especially because when she died he was with the Pack and he can't exactly use that as an alibi, can he?"

Stiles was really in his element here, thinking and talking and planning simultaneously while Scott just sat and watched. That was the best way to deal with things when Stiles got like this, to just wait it out until Stiles had a full plan and was ready to share it, or at least part of it. But Stiles might have had too much influence over him and he couldn't help asking questions.

"Why do we have to do anything? Derek's our teacher, he's alpha, he's got to know how to deal with this better than we ever could."

It was a legitimate question, but one that just cause Stiles to roll his eyes. "What's the first rule of being a spy? Back up, and if we don't help Derek doesn't have any. We're pack now, we can't just abandon him to his fate."

A fair point, so Scott goes with it. He listens as Stiles thinks out loud, even though he can only follow about 80% of what he says, and only that much because he's been with Stiles for so long. It doesn't bother him. One time Stiles did this in front of Allison and Scott understood more than she did, even though Scott's very much aware that his girlfriend is much smarter than he'll ever be. He's okay with that, because he might not be the smartest person in the room, but he knows Stiles best and often Stiles is the smartest person in the room.

Scott knows he shouldn't, but sometimes he tends to judge his own self-worth by his relationships with other people, and that is not healthy. Good thing he has Stiles, and now Allison, because he thinks the world of them and they love him back, so he must be awesome in some small way. Scott's working on that though, and his self-esteem is actually a lot better than it used to be. He's comfortable in his own skin, and that's fine with him.

But Scott sometimes understands the minds of humans as a whole even better than Stiles, because Scott gets the emotional side of it better than Stiles does. Stiles can do what he does through logic and observation and sheer intelligence, with Scott it's emotional and instinctual, and sometimes it works better than Stiles' methods. So Scott knows that he at least can contribute something, and that he's necessary. So Scott can be okay with going to get Derek without fully understanding exactly what the plan is, because he knows there's a plan and he knows that his particular skill set is very necessary to its completion.

And that necessity is revealed when he gets to Derek's room only minutes before others show up, meaning he has a matter of seconds to convince Derek to go with him. It could possibly be his greatest feat ever, because he pulls it off. They even have enough time to grab a few things before slipping away into the hidden passage that leads to sublevel five.

Derek is possibly more intimidating than he was the first time Scott saw him, which is pretty improbable but apparently not impossible. "Are you going to tell me why I'm here, Scott? Because I could have gotten far away from here by now if I wasn't."

"Actually, I'll explain the plan to you," Stiles cuts in as he shows up with Allison in tow. Scott has never before been so grateful to see the two of them. "And no need to be such a sourwolf, we're pack, we're here to help."

"Stiles. I am your teacher, no matter what you might have learned by now, I don't need your help. I can do it on my own."

That makes even Allison set her jaw and glare at Derek stubbornly. It takes quite a bit to make Allison do that, and Scott knows that for a fact, so he's pretty sure that Derek's not going to get out of here without agreeing to their demands (which, whatever Stiles might say, is really what they're doing, not offering help).

* * *

A/N: Apparently I'm writing this as a full story now. Not sure how well that will work out, but oh well. This is fun. I should be updating this about once a week, and hopefully will have slightly longer chapters, but no guarantees. Sometimes there are just natural breaks that feel like chapters to me, but I am weird and like short things.


	3. Allison 1

Allison really likes Beacon Hills Academy, she's made so many friends here and she's even got the most amazing and sweetest boyfriend, but sometimes she doesn't feel like she fits in. She feels like a wolf in sheep's skin, because she knows so much more than some of the children here (and she always thinks of them as children, even though they're her age or just a little bit younger).

Part of it's because her family handled all of her early education, right up until she arrived at BHA this fall, and they were a lot more thorough than some of the teachers are allowed to be. This might be a school for spies, but the students are still children and their parents don't want them to grow up too quickly.

Allison didn't have that luxury. She knows that her dad wanted her to have it, tried his best to provide a haven for her innocence wherever and whenever he could, but he was outnumbered. Besides, not even her mom knew about some of the stuff Aunt Kate had taught her, because even her mom would have thought it too extreme. And it was generally thought that if Victoria Argent considered something too extreme, then it was best left alone and hidden in the shadows, only to be drawn upon in the most desperate of times.

Aunt Kate was different. There was a time that Allison thought the world of her aunt, wanted to be just like the older girl who was more a sister to Allison than to her dad. Aunt Kate was awesome, she'd tell Allison all the things she was "too young" to know, like why her family hated the Hales so much, when they were on the same side. They were the good guys.

Now Allison knows she was too young for what Aunt Kate told her, too young to understand that her aunt was trying to brainwash her, trying to mold her into the perfect weapon, a weapon that only Kate could wield.

She's especially grateful that Kate lost her influence when Allison was still young enough that it made a difference, because if she hadn't, then Allison wouldn't be pack, and Allison loves being pack more than anything else in her entire life. More than even archery, and she's had a love affair with archery since she was big enough to hold a toy bow. And if Kate were still in her life, she wouldn't be pack, because she'd hate Derek Hale with every fiber of her being, just like Kate does.

But no, Allison's not sure if Kate really hates Derek. She remembers back before the Hale Fire, when Kate had had a new boyfriend that she'd told Allison about and no one else. She'd been in love, just a little, but she'd also been mad. Allison isn't sure how Kate feels about Derek, only that it was sick and twisted and led to the death of an entire family, leaving two siblings orphaned with a comatose uncle their only support system. She doesn't like to think about that, not now that she knows Derek, can see just how very damaged and fragile he is just from what she remembers about him, from the stories that Aunt Kate told.

All of it adds up to the fact that Allison is very loyal to the pack, is willing to kill anyone or anything that threatens its existence. Because the pack is the one thing in her life that is completely good, that isn't somehow tainted. Even if both she and her Alpha are still stained by Kate, will always be stained.

So when Stiles showed up in her dorm before breakfast one day in October, she didn't question why he wanted her help, or even how he'd managed to get past Lydia. She just went with him. The end result of which was that she's sitting in class without Scott in the seat next to her, or even Stiles behind her. It's strange, because even though she hasn't been at BHA for very long, it feels like forever.

It feels as if this is where she belongs now, standing next to Scott with Derek in front and Stiles hidden in the shadows, surveying everything from a distance. She still has Lydia, of course, and her other friends, but it's not the same. They're not pack, and Allison has to wonder when the pack became so important to her that her skin crawls when another member isn't nearby.

She always knew that she'd work in a team after graduation, because spies don't work alone, they work in teams; she just didn't know she'd be in a pack. Or that she'd find that pack years before she was forced out into the real world once again.

"Allison!" Lydia's voice calling her name finally penetrates her thoughts and she blushes, turning to the girl who is her roommate and is rapidly becoming her best friend. "Finally! I've been calling you for forever, are you ready? Cause class is over now and I want to get a good seat at lunch."

Lydia doesn't wait for an answer before turning and mincing her way around desks to the door. Everyone else has already left, even the teacher, but Allison's cheeks are still bright red. She should have been paying better attention, especially now. "Lydia, you always sit in the same spot. No one's going to take it," Allison rationalizes, trying to act cool and not draw any more attention to her space case episode.

"And I want to keep it that way."

Lydia does her hair flip, the one that Allison has heard Stiles describe in such great detail that sometimes she wonders whether Stiles is crushing on Lydia or considers Lydia the greatest puzzle he will ever encounter, and Allison laughs. Lydia always knows how to make Allison laugh, how to make her forget all her concerns, because more than anyone else in her entire life, Lydia treats Allison as if they're both two completely normal girls. As if Lydia isn't a genius and Allison isn't an Argent and they can just go to the mall any time they want and get pedicures and talk about boys. It keeps Allison from going crazy.

So she follows Lydia to the dining hall and feels her knees grow a little weak when she sees Scott and Stiles sitting in their usual corner, their gourmet lunches already in front of them. Scott looks up to see her and smiles and waves, just as he does every other time he sees her, so it's actually a lot more covert than people would think and she knows that everything is going to plan. Stiles winks at her quickly before dragging Scott back into whatever conversation they were having.

Lydia always sits with Jackson and Danny, but the others that sit at the table can change from day to day. Some regulars are Allison herself and Matt Daehler, but never Stiles and only Scott when Allison is there too. Conversation always revolves around anything new in classes, the latest gossip, and their latest exploits.

Sometimes Allison wishes she could tell them what she's learned in sublevel five, but she doesn't. She's been training to be a spy her entire life, she knows how to keep a secret. Today the conversation at Lydia Martin's table has the same subject as all of the other tables in the room. After all, it's big news when one of the last of the legendary Hales is found torn in two and the other disappears from a secure school with some of the best agents in the world on staff. From their secure school.

"He can't have been working alone," Lydia was emphatic about that point. She'd been repeating it for a few minutes. "You agree with me, don't you, Allison?"

"Yeah, of course." There were times when Allison felt like Lydia only kept her around to have someone to agree with her. She always felt petty and small after thinking that, because Lydia was a good friend and had gone out of her way to include Allison when she'd first gotten to BHA. "But who could he have been working with? No one else is missing."

Jackson just rolled his eyes at the conversation. "Just because no one is missing doesn't mean they didn't work with him. You know who I think he was working with? Kate Argent."

Everyone else at the table kind of stopped and all eyes flicked to Allison and then to somewhere, anywhere, else. Allison just stared down at her food. "I don't think he was," Lydia spoke up and wow, Allison really felt petty and small now.

"I mean, he's pretty much ignored the entire existence of Allison since she got here and Kate Argent killed his entire family. He's not working with her."

Jackson got this smug look on his face, the one that made Allison want to roll her eyes and made Scott and Stiles angry. "Not from what I've heard. Word is, Hale was working with Argent to take down his family, that it was an inside job."

Jackson just sat there with that smug smirk and for the first time in her life, Allison wanted to punch someone out of sheer anger and frustration. Knowing what she did from Aunt Kate, she could have thought that at one point, but not anymore. Now she knows Derek, knows just how much he misses his family and how utterly destroyed he still is by their deaths. She also knows how hard it was for him to reach out to her and include her in the pack, too, just because of her last name and her connection to the woman who burned his life to the ground.

"I don't think he was. Kate used to tell me everything, he wasn't working with her," Allison said, trying her best not to let it come out too sharply, to sound too much like a rebuke. Because the truth was, based on what Kate had said, Derek could have been working with her, if everything had been truth and he had been as in love with her as she claimed. "Besides, he's too good. If he had been working with her, then no one would have ever known and probably no one else would have survived."

"True," Lydia admitted before flipping her hair over her shoulder and standing. "Come on, Allison, we've got to get our homework from the room before French." She sashayed away, not even checking to make sure Allison was following her, which Allison of course was.

As she passed Scott and Stiles she gave them a subtle wink, which of course only Stiles caught. He tilted his head in response, indicating that she should continue with her part of the plan. Which, actually wasn't that hard. She'd already planted the seeds back at the table.

All she had to do was to get people to stop trying to connect Derek to the Argents, because that would take a lot of suspicion off of him. And they needed to draw off that suspicion, because right now, if Derek left sublevel five, then he was caught because everyone was hyper vigilant. Before they could take any action they had to get the spot light off of his back.

* * *

A/N: So I've decided to switch POVs every couple of chapters, but the main POV will still be Scott. These changed POV chapters will also probably be shorter. Also, I'll try to get at least one chapter out a week. Other than that, thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and/or followed.


End file.
